Changes in our group, as we pass age 1

["Robert G. Brown" <bob@xxxxxxx>]

About a year ago, KLUG was just getting started, with the first meeting taking
place with only TWO people; the next (October 27, 1997) with only 6. We had no 
net presence, no notion of how to proceed, and had to invent some direction.

Now we have a mailing list of almost 100 people, and our meeting attendance 
has picked up. We are one of the very few Linux groups that have WEEKLY 
meetings, but we have no shortage of topics and speakers. We've gone public,
both with an Installfest, at the local computer sales, and at WMU. We're also 
looking for addditional ways to reach out into the community. We've got good
net presence (over a dozen sights, including SLASHDOT, Red Hat, and LINUX.ORG 
link to us; we're even listed on the major search engines (go to YAHOO! and
type Kalamazoo.. we're there!), and word has gotten around about us.

We've come a long way, and there's more road to cover in building our group.
I want to report and comment on a couple of recent developments.

- Today I accepted the resignation of Mike List, from the position of Web-
  master, with some reluctance. I'd want to thank Mike for the work he has 
  done on the KLUG web site these last 3 months, during which our Web site
  has grown and become an even more important group resource.  We're sure 
  to see Mike contribute to the growth and strength of KLUG, as he remains
  devoted to free software in general, and Linux in particular.

  I beleive ther are a number of people out there who would like to see if 
  they have what it takes to be a Webmaster, and others may not want the whole
  job, but will be willing to help out. I'd like to see if we can assemble a 
  team to handle the web site, since this approach allows more people to make
  a contribution and spreads out the work.

  Those of you who are interested in any part of this, please reply to me
  directly. You can also look at:
     http://klug.armintl.com/organize/web-mast.html
  Consider that if we assemble a team, each team member will only perform a
  fraction of the effort listed on the page above.

  I look forward to hearing from you on this.

- OUR MOST RECENT MEETING was a Blast! Several kinds of blasts, as we killed
  off hordes of monsters, enemy tanks, and nasty aliens. Yes, we took over 
  the mezzanine at Boogies, brough in our own computers and had a gamefest! 
  We even recruited a couple of new faces. As someone who brought a computer,
  I learned a lot about how much gaming there is in Linux, and what support 
  and development is going on out there.

  The idea for this meeting/party starts as the "IP Masquerade Ball", and 
  things evolved from there. We've raised some money, got support from Red
  Hat, and are all around better off for having done this. Some formal 
  presentation? We didn't need it! Merely going from machine to machine was   
  enough!  

  Maybe next year?  Or sooner? 

- CHANGING OUR MEETING PLACE AND TIME
  By the end of the year, our current arrangement to use meeting space at 
  Pharmacia & Upjohn will be ended, and while we are seeking other places
  to meet in the P&U complex, there is a chance it will not work out. 

  Also, some people may not find the P&U area convenient, and our meetings
  would get larger if we moved to a better spot. We are open to suggestions
  and proposals in this area; please write to the Program Director (email:
  programdirector@klug.armintl.com) if you have some specific ideas.

  The other point that comes up is that our current Tuesday night meeting
  time should be moved. We have a survey going on right now, and meeting 
  times are on that survey. This is YOUR chance to choose the best time to 
  meet; for this and other reasons, filling out a survey form....

        http://klug.armintl.com/survey

  is a good way to participate and help the group find the best time for
  most of us to meet. The survey has other questions, the answers to which
  will help shape our group.

- We've got good quality events coming along... see our meeting schedule page
  for details. We will be bringing in Pizza for the 17 November and 15 December
  meetings. We're always looking for more topics, more speakers, and fresh
  ideas.

KLUG is based on the notion that participation is something EVERY MEMBER can
perform, and that we've all had experiences from which the rest of us can 
learn.  If we keep quiet and don't contribute, the group runs into problems,
but when we share our experience, all of us win.

I'll be writing about other issues, as the pace continues to pick up, and as 
ideas are ready to be presented. I don't want be another quiet consumer, and 
I ask that you not be one, either. I'm looking forward to seeing something
from everyone on this mailing list as we continue to grow and develop a free 
software community here in West Michigan.

                                                           Best Regards,
                                                           ---> RGB <---